Baba Ramdev requests leniency as Supreme Court criticizes Patanjali ads, Uttarakhand officer pleads for mercy.

The Supreme Court has rejected Patanjali’s apology affidavits in the Baba Ramdev controversy. A bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah was upset by what it saw as insincere apologies from the company and its founders.

The court zeroed in on Dr. Mithilesh Kumar, the Joint Director of the state’s Food and Drug Administration, who had pleaded with folded hands for mercy. The court was not convinced by the apologies and criticized the actions taken by the Uttarakhand FDA.

The court pointed out that the FDA had only issued a warning to Patanjali despite the Ministry’s previous communication against a misleading advertisement. It emphasized that the law does not provide for warnings and there are no provisions for compounding the offense.

The court expressed disappointment with the lack of action taken and the repeated failures to address the issue by the licensing inspector and subsequent appointees. The court reprimanded the officer and directed them to register, and then suggested that they sit at home for a few days or remain in the office to write letters, accusing them of playing with the public’s health.

The court’s criticism of the state drug authority comes after Patanjali Ayurved’s co-founders were previously reprimanded for their “absolute defiance” of the highest court in the land. The court also questioned the AYUSH Ministry for not taking action against the company’s “shocking” ads that belittled contemporary medicine.

The court was hearing a contempt case against Patanjali for publishing advertisements with false claims about its products and their medical efficacy. Despite a previous directive to stop all misleading electronic and print ads, it was claimed that such ads continued to be published.